Takeaways

• ESG may be losing its hype, but industry leaders at Resourcing Tomorrow say it remains essential for managing VUCA risks.
• Speakers stressed that governance failures continue to drive major mining disasters, highlighting ESG’s ongoing relevance.
• As supply chains grow more volatile, ESG is evolving, not disappearing, as companies reassess risk, reputation, and responsibility.

At Europe’s biggest mining investment conference, Resourcing Tomorrow, a clear message emerged: While the excitement around environmental, social, and governance (ESG) may be fading, its importance is not. Instead, the acronym is gaining new traction in the risk management world, especially as mining companies face mounting global pressures.

The ESG and risk management panel opened with a provocative question: “ESG: Is it dead? Or is the acronym dead?” Beverley Adams, head of client engagement and consulting director of strategic risk practice at Bowring Marsh, asked attendees whether ESG is truly declining or merely evolving. “Is ESG dying or is it always rebranding?” she added.

While many agreed that the initial hype around ESG has cooled, the panel was unanimous on another point: VUCA, i.e., volatile, uncertain, complex, and ambiguous, is far from outdated. With soaring demand for critical minerals and growing strain on supply chains, mining operations are becoming increasingly VUCA. “Uncertainty is the new normal,” Adams said, noting that this volatility shapes everything from global resourcing to everyday life.

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For Gerhald Bolt, principal of climate and sustainability at consultancy dss+, the value of ESG lies in its ability to manage this volatility. He argued that companies should treat ESG as a strategic tool: One that can boost brand equity, support revenue growth, reduce costs, and most importantly, minimize risk.

This focus on risk echoed throughout the conference. During a keynote session, Vicente Mello, senior vice-president and Brazil country manager at Aecom, pointed to the long-lasting consequences of governance failures. Nearly a decade after the 2015 collapse of the Fundão tailings dam in Brazil, the mining sector continues to grapple with its fallout. Only last month, a UK court found BHP and Vale liable for the tragedy, reinforcing the ongoing legal and reputational implications of the disaster.

Mello also cited the 2019 Brumadinho dam collapse, which resulted in 272 deaths. “In both cases, there was deep failure in the governance system within the companies and also within the regulators,” he said. The environmental and social damage caused by these incidents highlights why governance remains the backbone of ESG.

Edward Johnson, corporate responsibility director at Gemfields, argued that ESG can only be effective when backed by rigorous supply chain due diligence. He highlighted conditions at the Montepuez ruby mine in Mozambique, a site he described as “most definitely VUCA”. The mine, responsible for around half of the world’s rubies, faces constant threats from illegal mining. In the last 24 hours alone, 657 illegal miners were identified on the concession, illustrating the human and operational risks the company must manage responsibly.

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For Johnson, this is precisely why ESG cannot be dismissed. “What you have got for ESG priorities, is a significant risk from people who are willing to risk their lives on a daily basis and attack your security forces to get access to the attractive material that you are in charge of bringing into the supply chain in a responsible manner,” he said, adding that without strong governance and oversight, ESG becomes meaningless.

Adams closed the session with a clear takeaway: ESG itself is not dying, but the language around it is changing. Whether framed as sustainability, social licence, or co-design, ESG remains integrated across the mining sector, tightly linked to VUCA realities and the decisions companies make in response.

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Source: Mining Technology